


Odds and Ends

by AshAuditore, RikuKingdomHearts3



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Comic Book Universe, Eventual Romance, Inspired by Music, Inspired by Take On Me, M/M, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Minor blood warning, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24377323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshAuditore/pseuds/AshAuditore, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikuKingdomHearts3/pseuds/RikuKingdomHearts3
Summary: Zack Fair, an avid fan of a limited-run comic book series "Crisis Core" where Cloud is the hero, finds himself transported to the world of the comic itself after acquiring the very last volume of the series. Confusion is only a word, until you've become the first man to travel through dimensions.Inspired by the music of A-Ha.
Relationships: Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 17
Kudos: 40





	1. Living a Cloud's Adventure Tale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riku here and I've got a new story, co authored with AshAuditore! It all started from the random thoughts of the Take on Me music video by A-Ha.

It felt like an evening like all the rest. Zack had gone to his favorite diner for some light food and was planning to just relax and read. What he planned to read today was something really special after all.

From his book bag he pulled out a small comic book and set it on the table. He smiled happily as he looked over the cover which read **Crisis Core: The Nibelheim Chronicles**. It was the 7th volume… the final volume of the mini series. It excited him and at the same time filled him with a sense of worry.

The **Crisis Core** graphic novel series was something he always had loved reading ever since he discovered the series. It was an older one, but it was so fascinating for Zack with the story that it talked about. It was a dystopian, sci-fi fantasy series set in an apocalyptic city with antagonists that ranged from scientific experiments to even aliens.

It was overall a larger series and Zack had read it over and over again, falling in love of the setting and the story…and as well as one certain character. There was one character that, to Zack, stood out from all the rest. That one character was the one who Zack had unintentionally falling in love with, but he wouldn't have had it any other way.

One of the main protagonists was a man by the name of Cloud Strife. He was a young blond who was the lone wolf type of character, but deep down under the cool and snarky exterior, was the kindest heart. It was that type of character that really stood out to Zack, and he found himself drawn too, and he wanted to learn as much as he could.

With his research, mainly from the help of his friend Kunsel, he found out that the **Crisis Core** series actually had a mini series that followed after the main story ended. It was just his luck that this mini series, **Crisis Core: The Nibelheim Chronicles** , focused solely on Cloud and his post-main story journey.

With it being a short run mini series, and the overall series being old, copies were very hard to come by. Zack had done whatever he could to track down the 7 volumes of **The Nibelheim Chronicles** for his collection.

Months upon months had been spent hunting, from online sites to every comic book store he could feebly go to. Even to the point of asking his friend Aerith, who owned her own comic book store, to see if she could order the out of print series. But of course she had to remind him constantly it was out of print and there was no way to just order it up for him like he wished.

But a breakthrough had happened just a couple of months ago. Kunsel managed to really dig deep and found a good quality copy of the final volume. Zack had tried to figure out how in the world Kunsel ever did it, but the man was a mystery, he never revealed his secrets. Either way, Zack had gotten the comic and could finally read it. He could finally see how Cloud's adventure would end, yet at the same time…he was afraid to see it end.

When he had read the original end to the main series, he had been left with a mixed feeling. The series was open ended considering it was still in an apocalyptic setting, but things were starting to look brighter. But Zack had always felt like there could have been so much more, and that was where that mini series with Cloud came in. He had eagerly read the first six volumes but when it came to the last, he kept putting it off. He felt too afraid to finally see the true end of the series for Cloud. Though he knew he could just reread it and live it all over again, he still couldn't bear the thought to see Cloud's story end.

Stared at the cover, he smiled at the image. It was of Cloud leaning against his iconic motorcycle as he overlooked the futuristic and dystopian city of Midgar. He always looked so cool no matter what he did. Plus he had a rather over the top but also all black outfit that made him look even more of a badass.

Maybe it was childish to have a crush on a comic book character, but Zack really didn't care what others thought of it. His friends never judged him at least they all thought it was rather cute instead.

But now he had to focus. He had to get to the whole entire reason he was sitting here in his little secluded booth at a small diner. He was here to read this comic while also enjoying a nice cup of hot cocoa.

The owner and the only chef of the diner, Cid Highwind, brought out a plate filled with golden brown pancakes, crispy glazed strips of bacon, and bright yellow scrambled eggs — all the things Zack had ordered so often Cid didn't even have to ask. All Zack had to do was enter the place, with the old-but-functional automatic doorbell announcing his presence, and Cid would get to it right away.

Soft jazzy music kept the silence at bay. As usual, Zack found himself bopping his head slightly to the tune of the music played via the speaker system once again. He'd have them as the score accompanying various scenes from _Crisis Core_.

The tracks with romantic saxophones would be for close-ups on Cloud Strife.

Cid placed the dish in front of Zack, of which he replied with multiple thank yous. The chef's response was a smile of sincerity.

Zack switched back-and-forth between eating and reading the comic. He wouldn't let the most valuable object in his universe be stained by the very food he consumed.

The hot cocoa elevated the taste, bridging the land of sweet and salty in his mouth. After letting out a sigh, relaxing with the warmth of the liquid, he decided it was finally time to open up the book and begin reading. Carefully he opened it up to the first page that was just a quick retelling catch up of what had happened in the prior six volumes, including some light touches back to the main series.

_After the planet had been saved from the alien force that was Jenova, you would think that the world could be at peace. But for one like Cloud Strife, peace was still so far away. There were still so many pieces to pick up, and still so many to discover, or in Cloud's case rediscover._

_After Jenova's defeat, Cloud went on his journey to uncover the mystery of the past that he had forgotten. Those long forgotten memories of things that had been buried away. It all led him back to Nibelheim, the source of so much pain and destruction for so many._

_The further he dug, the more trouble he found himself in. A new threat arose in the form of a mysterious group that sought to destroy Cloud. The only way to defeat them lied hidden in the past buried deep — waiting to be unearthed. The group proclaimed themselves as the Remnants, and they wanted to make sure that Cloud couldn't get away that easily._

_He would have to deal with them in any way he could, using measures he had never thought of using before — for they were mischievous, smart and tactful. Cloud had experienced life and death. But this time around, all bets were off. He had to survive, not just for himself but for the Planet itself too._

_The past moved like shadows._

_The present stuck between what came before and what would come next._

_The future had yet to be seen._

_And now...it's time for us to witness the most perilous battle Cloud would ever face — from within._

Zack breathed in deeply. "Okay…" he muttered to himself. "This is it… the last instalment. Let's see what you do Cloud."

He flipped the page and immediately it started off with Cloud sitting on his motorcycle as he stared off at the city of Midgar. The panels showed him from different angles looking thoughtful and Zack couldn't help but sigh at the detail and expressed that they had drawn into his beautiful face.

Soon thoughts came in the next panel from Cloud, still looking as calm as ever. " _Midgar… haven't been back in two years… so much has changed."_

Cloud closed his eyes, seeming like he was sighing. _"I wonder… maybe I should check in on the others. They'd probably want to see me."_

Was it possible to have such a strong fixation on someone created by the hands of somebody's else? To be so smitten by just merely a glance. To have your heart beat faster than usual. And maybe, to live a life in honor and admiration of that someone, even.

The answer would be a resounding yes from Zack. He'd tell others he collected and read it for the stories and that he'd love to be its archiver — to protect the last of the lasts. Both of these were true, but none were as true as the main reason why — Cloud Strife.

 _Cloud Strife. C-L-O-U-D. S-T-R-I-F-E_.

Zack repeated his name over and over, day and night. He had drawn fanarts of the blonde soldier in various forms, ranging from a black-and-white sketch to full-on digital illustrations and oil paintings. He had to borrow Aerith's laptop from time to time, should he have the urge to draw Cloud in a digital form. His own laptop was rather old and nearing its demise.

With the last volume of _Crisis Core_ in his hands, he flipped each page akin to how restorers in museums turned pages of centuries-old sacred texts of history. It had the same importance to him. This was history. The past, present and future coming together for one final send-off.

His fingers traced the shapes of the impeccably drawn figures of Cloud — masculine yet feminine, or the reverse of it. Pages with close-ups took him more than ten seconds to turn. He locked his own eyes with Cloud's — those perfect blue eyes that put him under a spell.

The music in the shop played the track with the soft saxophone once again. Some of the patrons had taken notice of how better the music at Cid's compared to others. The man took no credit. He simply gave it to "those old-ass CDs I found in the garage."

Zack wasn't the biggest music person — that person would be Tifa, Aerith's another close friend who works at the bar she built and ran. But he did have some certain knowledge about it and he was certain this particular track was spot-on for the page he was on now. He would have to ask Cid later about the track's name.

The page he was on, had Cloud changing his clothes in a local motel. It wasn't erotic by nature at all, yet, soft pink spots formed on Zack's cheeks. He took a quick sip of the cocoa, now colder by the law of Thermodynamics, and cleared his throat.

In the panel previous to this, Cloud was caught in the rain — his fluffy, spiky hair now drenched and down, covering his face. He booked a room furthest from anyone. The soldier didn't mind acquaintances, just not when he was unceremoniously sporting a drown cat look.

Cloud took his clothes off piece-by-piece, dropping the wet ones in a bucket nearby. _Clank...clank..clank_ , as the rainwater-soaked clothes got dropped into it.

Underneath all the garments was the body of the man of Zack's dream. _The perfect man_. In this volume, the illustrators seemed to beef up Cloud's physique. He was more muscular, but still with grace and agility. Scars of healed physical wounds decorated here and there on the man's body.

Zack gulped. So this is what they'd call _an experience_.

Flipping to another page, now Cloud was in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist — the "V" lines of his hips visible more than ever. Cloud approached a mirror next to the bed where the lampshade was. He stared straight into his own reflection.

Zack got even more attentive by this.

Those blue eyes, reflecting endlessly right back at Zack.

Those blue eyes, drawing him closer and closer to the page.

Those blue eyes, turning around to face him—

Zack paused. He rubbed his eyes, slightly puzzled. " _Did...the page just...?"_

Carrying on, he turned to another page to find...a transparent mirror-like page. He tried changing to another, but the pages were stuck together. He exerted a more considerable but acceptable force to pry them open.

They wouldn't.

He tried again. And again.

Maybe someone played a prank on him. But no, it couldn't have been Kunsel. Yes, they would do practical jokes on each other — but never when it's about the things they hold dear. As Zack was about to leave the table to ask Cid for a small favor, his hand got stuck to the comic — as if he was glued to it.

He looked down, seeing the pages have turned into heavy liquid and his left hand submerged in it. Just when Zack was about to ask himself the how and why, a pulsing sensation vibrated throughout his arm to every single part of his body. He let out a small yelp, for it resembled an electric shock. He pulled and pulled, only to make things worse as now his arm started to go deeper into the "pool" of liquid.

He could try screaming for help but the words wouldn't just come out.

With his last effort, he breathed in and out — and used all the strengths he had to be free from the ever-consuming pool. The first two seconds, it seemed like he won. The following seconds, however, proved him wrong.

His face fell into the pool, followed by the rest of his body. Thunderous sounds screeched and pierced the once silent space.

For the other tables and Cid, the world remained the same. The chef spotted where Zack was, "huh"-ing at the lack of Zack's presence. He excused himself from the customers he was chatting with, to find a comic book closed and sat comfortably next to an eaten meal.

Cid took the comic and placed it on the table in his office behind the metal doors. His diner wasn't just a diner, but also the town's unofficial lost-and-found station.

In the twisting, pulsating darkness Zack couldn't make out his whereabouts, his body free-floated and got thrown around by strong, unknown forces. His hands covered his ears and his eyes completely closed — sparing himself the sight of the disturbances occurring around him.

Faint voices seeping in. Zack couldn't make out most of the words, but he did hear what sounded like his name. The voices grew louder and louder. He could hear his name echoing endlessly. He begged for it to stop, shouting as loud as he could.

Another second passed and he found himself crashing through the liquid surface, the same one that sucked him in.

_THUD!_

Zack landed on something...or someone. The world was now quiet — almost.

He could hear someone breathing close by, with short and sharp breaths. Blinking a few times to try and clear his vision, Zack finally had the strength to open up his eyes. Though what he saw before him was possibly the _last_ thing he ever expected to see.

Bright, vibrant blue eyes were staring right into his own. A mix of anger and confusion seems to fill them, and slowly Zack started piecing together just who it was who he was looking at. There was no mistaking the blue eyes… or the blond spiky hair.

"I'm going to ask you again, who the hell are you and how did you get here?"

Zack gasped. Cloud… he was speaking. He had a voice and he was talking! He was not only talking, but he was talking directly to him!

 _Silence is golden_ , they said. Alas, this was proven to be wrong — precisely in this case. Words were about to come out of Zack's mouth, only to go back in fear and confusion. Zack had run through all the lists of possible scenarios from least wildest to the most.

Whatever was happening in front of him surpassed even the most extreme options.

"I...I don't know. I was just...reading. Something happened. I don't know how to explain. But what I can tell you is that I'm as confused as you are right now," Zack replied, trying his best to come off as non-threatening as he could.

A few inches away from Zack were shards of glasses from the mirror—fully broken. Fortunately, there wasn't any cut on his body.

Cloud narrowed his eyes, clearly he was far from believing what Zack had just told him. Quickly he seemed to come back to his senses and shoved Zack off of him. "How can you go from reading… to being on top of me in my motel room? Plus there is also the fact that the mirror is broken all of a sudden. What explanation do you have for that?"

"I don't have an explanation that will really answer both of our questions. But I can tell you this. I was reading a comic book. A...I don't know…portal emerged and sucked me into it. Next thing I know, I was in some weird dimension and then crashed into your room, Clo—"

A close call. Zack almost said Cloud's name. He cleared his throat to hide his accidental mistake.

"If anything, can you tell me where I am?" Zack inquired. He looked around the room, trying to make sense of this new environment. " _Is this really happening? Am I dreaming?"_

There was still a high level of suspicion in Cloud's eyes as he stood up. Zack figured Cloud totally did not buy what he was saying, but he wasn't going to say anything on it yet. Instead he walked towards his bag that he placed on the bed. He pulled out a pair of pajamas and headed closer to the bathroom. "You're at a small motel at the edge of Midgar. And if you are talking about portals and dimensions… Honestly with the way the planet works I wouldn't be surprised if something like that is possible. Gaia knows I've seen weirder."

 _Midgar. Gaia._ Two words Zack had ingrained and integrated into his waking and sleeping life. There's only one place where those two words co-existed with each other — the Crisis Core series. Despite another part of himself yelling at him to try to convince the very sight of Cloud Strife and himself being in the same room was merely an imagination, reality came knocking to remind him this was true.

This was happening. For real.

Zack stood up, brushing off the dust if there was any. "So, um, I'm Zack, by the way," Zack said, extending a hand for a handshake.

Cloud stared down at Zack's hand and then his eyes slowly drifted up. Briskly he entered the bathroom and slammed the door. There was a brief pause before the door opened a crack and Cloud poked his head through. "Don't think of trying to leave. I still have questions for you." After that he closed the door again.

 _"Well, at least he didn't cut me with his sword."_ Zack sighed, a mix of relief and slight disappointment in his failure to properly initiate a proper physical contact. Falling on somebody while they were dressed in nothing but a towel surely didn't count.

An idea suddenly sparked in him. He reached for his phone in his right pants pocket—it was still there. Should he be able to go back to this world, he'd have proof he was the first human to do interdimensional traveling.

The battery was at 87 percent.

 _Wait. Hold on a sec._ It dawned on him, truly. He was in the same room as Cloud Strife. The one and only. The hero, the soldier, the warrior and many more words with "the" in front of them.

"Oh my god. Oh my fucking god," Zack proclaimed, with muffled chuckling for he covered his mouth as to not startle Cloud.

Today has proven to be revelations after revelations, and another came to light. He caught the sight of the Buster Sword, worm with time but not rusty yet, laying against the wooden wardrobe. He moved closer to see it clearly. It was magnificent and astonishing beyond his wildest notions.

Zack's brain yelled back at him. _Something isn't right_. As if a freight train crashed into him, Zack let out yet another gasp — of which wouldn't be the last. The sword wasn't real. Not in the sense that it didn't exist.

It was in a comic book style.

The whole thing—hand-drawn and colored by illustrators and artists of the series. Zack looked around him to see the room and all the objects in it were of the similar fashion.

Cloud, too, was the same.

The moon landing was an achievement for humankind. But this might just surpass it.

Zack took his phone out again, turning on Silent Mode, and took pictures of everything as much as he could. The pictures matched with what he saw.

It'd a while before he'd get to snap pictures of Cloud. Trust had to be earned and he was willing to do it.

But back on the thought of taking pictures and seeing that the world he was in stayed styled like the comic, a new thought came to mind. He took his phone and held it out in front of him, then he clicked the button for the camera to flip.

His eyes widened as he saw his reflection. It was still him, that hadn't changed, but he was now styled like everything else. He looked like he had been drawn right into the comic.

Right away he went back to taking a couple more pictures when he heard the bathroom door open. Cloud stood there, his eyes dead set on Zack. "And just what do you think you are doing?"

Startled, Zack hid his phone behind his back. He'd tell Cloud about what he did later but now was not the time. "I—was checking if my phone has a signal. You know, like, moving it around the room to see which spot is strongest!"

Zack didn't lie much throughout his life. Honesty and him were best friends. His mother and father had raised him to tell only the truth and lie only when it was _absolutely_ necessary.

A floral-scented smell hit his nose. He couldn't pinpoint the exact name of the scent. The closest that came to mind was chamomile.

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Really? Cause to me it looked like you were taking pictures of my stuff."

_"Shit. He knows. What to do?!"_

"And why would I do that?" Unknown to Zack, his voice went up slightly higher than usual. He was guilty of the crime Cloud accused him of. Maybe he was gonna have to come clean sooner than expected.

Zack took a deep breath. "I'm sorry if I'm acting weird. Everything's been beyond my scope and I don't exactly know what to do," Zack said, rubbing behind the back of his neck—his eyes apologizing to the blonde before him with puppy-like qualities.

Cloud sighed as he walked closer to Zack. "Then why don't you start at the beginning and tell me everything that happened before you ended up here."

Butterflies were let loose and now flying within Zack's stomach. He recomposed himself before telling Cloud of the knowledge he had about this dimension.

Or parts of it, for now. Zack had many fears and a new one just being added: telling someone they were created—not by a God or Goddess, but as a character in a story.

Zack placed himself on the edge of the bed. He pulled his phone out and showed Cloud the pictures he had taken.

"I did what I did not because I'm a spy or someone wanting to take an advantage of you. I just want...proof. You see, this world...of yours...it isn't mine. I'm sure you've already figured that out. Like I told you before, I was reading a comic book and got transported here," Zack explained, anticipating the worst but also hoping for the best of the outcome of his words to Cloud.

"Still…" Cloud made his way back over to Zack. "How well can you detail what happened? Particularly with that part where you said you were sucked into a portal. We will start with that."

"Maybe because I was closing my ears and eyes the whole time. It was short too, but enough to scare me," Zack described, the violent sensation of going through the portal haunting him at the back of his mind.

A serious look came upon Zack's face. "The really strange part was...hearing my name being said over and over. I'm not a scientist but I don't think you'd have to be one to know what's explainable and what's not," he added, ending with a small laugh.

Zack reached out his hand, offering a handshake yet again. "Hope that's enough to know I'm not a threat," he joked.

Cloud stayed perfectly still. He had kept his eyes locked on Zack the entire time. It was clear that he still had his suspicions, but slowly he reached out to grab Zack's hand and shake it. "Fine. I'll believe you for now, but I still have more questions. I suppose though you really have no idea how you were brought here." A moment later he added on. "The name's Cloud by the way."

 _Whoa_. Cloud's hand...with his own—a connection of two lives from different worlds altogether. The universe both of them occupying right this second not collapsing on itself. If there was any anomaly it was him, Zack surmised. Just maybe, no matter how small the chance might be, there could be a meaning to why Zack was brought here.

"Cloud...nice name for a battle-hardened person like you," Zack complimented. Of course it was a nice name—a great name, even!

Zack got up from the bed, shooting at Cloud his soft smile. "By the way, you mind if I use the bathroom for a bit? Just for a quick wash on my face."

At first Cloud looked surprised by the comment Zack had made about his name. But the expression quickly faded away, back to his normal relaxed face.

Cloud merely shrugged after that. "Do as you please I guess. Just do not think you can attempt anything. I'll still be watching you."

Zack signaled Cloud a "gotcha" stance and entered the bathroom. The faucet creaked with the smallest of touches. He cupped his hands, getting the water as much as he could and cleaned his face. A couple more splashes were enough for him. He turned off the faucet.

The molecules, the DNA strands and all the small things that came together to make who he was now—they weren't changed by the trip through the portal nor the difference in his appearance. The water dripped from the tip of his fingers as real as when he was back home.

Then again, what was real and what was not?

Zack got out of the bathroom, greeted by Cloud who turned to face him as soon as he stepped out. Cloud was now sitting on the bed, with his arms and legs crossed. "So Zack… what makes you say that my name suits a 'battle-hardened person' like me? We've never met before."

Tucking his hands into the pockets of the pants, Zack answered, "judging from your sword there. Looks like it's been through a lot. And, I don't know, something about a person named Cloud who's good at fighting just clicked." Zack shrugged, in a playful manner.

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Just because I carry a sword doesn't mean I am a good fighter. Unless of course you have actually been spying on me."

"I mean...it's a special kind of sword, isn't it? For someone to wield it, that person must be really good at using it. Hell, might as well use it to save the world too," Zack giggled mildly.

In the series, Cloud had always been depicted as smarter than he looked—a feature the soldier used extensively to trick enemies. Zack wasn't only seeing it first hand but also on the receiving end. He was both glad and sort of terrified.

Zack added, crossing his arms, "and what kinda spy uses a dimension-crossing portal?"

"The kind that could be clearly lying to make me believe that something like that can be possible," Cloud replied in a deadpan tone.

Zack raised his voice a bit, only with an intention to be truthful, "but I'm not, Cloud! I don't have any reason to!" A sigh escaped his mouth. He expressed a sincere apology to the blonde.

Cloud sighed as well. "All right, let's say I do actually believe you right now. I don't trust you yet, but I'll believe you are telling the truth. Let's refresh, you said you were reading a comic and then were pulled into a portal… was there anything odd or strange about what you were reading?"

Throughout the years, Zack had come into close contact with high-anxiety events. He overcame them and survived to tell the tales to his close friends. To others, it might not seem like a big of a thing to be happy about—but Zack took pride in this. It wasn't easy and likely wouldn't be. He wouldn't give up, that's for certain.

Zack would have to add Cloud asking him about what he read into the list of those events. Zack ran the scenarios in his head, picturing the next following seconds. It was the fear— the fear of the truth.

Often, it was a resolution. It also could be a destructive weapon.

"No...not really. It was just a story about otherworldly adventures in the faraway land of a warrior. I'm a fan of the series and the one that I'm reading is the last volume of a limited-run series. Hard to find, y'know? Gotta thanks my buddy for finding it for me," Zack explained, his mood lifting up a bit once he got to talk about what he was an expert in.

"I guess that could be something to go off on. But it still leaves questions." Cloud stretched for a moment, letting out a silent yawn. "We'll look more into this tomorrow. It's no use trying when we're tired."

Zack agreed. There was a couch right by the door large enough for a person to sleep on. There was only one pillow and it was for Cloud. He didn't mind taking a rest on it. The gap between him and Cloud not too far apart. This room was dainty and useful just enough for the weary travelers. His ears picked up sounds outside the wall—Midgar was just outside. Midgar! The city he had drawn scenery based on illustrations from the comics.

As much as he'd prefer to show Cloud his works, there was time for everything—hopefully.

Zack had flopped down onto the couch, ready to fall asleep. But he could see that Cloud was still sitting up and staring at him. His neutral, hard to read expression covered his face, barely even flinching. "You do know it is a pull out couch, right?"

Zack stared back at Cloud in confusion and surprise. _"It's a pull out couch? Of course, it's a damn pull out couch!"_ He got up and did the pulling. Lo and behold, the couch was transformed into a fully-fledged bed—enough for two people. Zack didn't see Cloud sharing a bed with him when he had the whole bed to himself and they just met.

A part of Zack threw a coin down the wishing well. Didn't hurt to try.

"Thanks for mentioning," Zack said, ready to fall asleep and begin his adventure in the brave new world. The neighborhood outside carried on with their lives in preparation of a new day. He turned his face away from Cloud, sure in the fact of the awkwardness of accidentally waking up and staring at the blonde in the morning.

With his eyes closed, the dark void became the world of life and he was among the populace—merely just existing. Zack preferred his dreams to be about nothing rather than be about anything that's horrific.

_"What would Cloud dream about?"_


	2. I Dream Myself Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Riku here, thanks guys for checking out this story and now we have chapter 2! 
> 
> We have updated the tags as you see, so yes minor warnings now and they start in this chapter.

Beyond the city of Midgar was the ruins of where life once bloomed. The last time there was vegetation, many weren't born just yet. Rain fell every now and then, but nothing could grow. Later, the ruins were given an appropriate name — "the Wasteland".

The Wasteland was a field of death.

Walking this dead land as of now, was Zack himself. He had been on foot for hours on end...or it could have been _days_. The sun never went down when you were in the Wasteland.

Yet, he hadn't drunk a single drop of water nor there were sweats on his body. Exhaustion was non-existent.

Zack gazed above him, seeing the clear blue sky and the looming presence of the sun (as always). He saw only the sky and the sun — no avian life flying over him. He could hear nothing, only his footsteps.

Time passed, didn't it?

In front of him, after countless hours of ambling, were black, blurry shapes coming right at him and stretching to the ends of the Earth.

" _Hostiles? Friends?"_

Zack marched on toward the shapes, with the distances between him and them shortening. Curiosity could be dangerous, they said. Or it could be wise.

The shapes were getting clearer. They were no longer just lines. Zack noticed that they looked human-like. Closer and closer, now he was certain they were humans — tons of them. They were donning the same uniform, one with a helmet with three red glowing lights.

All of them had a gun in their hands. A worried face came upon Zack. " _Should I run?"_ came to mind. Fading away was the perplexed self, being replaced by the terrified self. Still, a part of him that needed answers somehow won over. He sped up a bit, changing from sauntering to jogging. _Huff, huff, huff_ — nearly similar to the ticking of a clock.

A helicopter soared past him. It did a sharp turn and faced him directly — the turret gun attached under it aimed at Zack. Another helicopter joined in, doing the same motion. A copy of a copy. Zack couldn't make out the words they were shouting, just that it was ear-piercingly loud.

The gun-toting men stopped in their tracks. The area they occupied went quiet. A lone voice announced an order, breaking the silence. In the blink of an eye, they aimed their guns at Zack.

He stopped, gulping and watching them closely.

The lone voice barked another order, and in those milliseconds hundreds — if not — thousands of bullets were fired at him from both the men and the helicopters. Zack brought his arms together and shielded himself. The firing sped up, becoming more rapid.

As quick as it came, the firing ceased.

Smokes covered the landscapes of the Wasteland. Zack couldn't see what was happening. " _Wait. I'm still...alive?"_

A low, groaning voice came from behind him — full with pain and shock. Zack turned around with careful steps and watchful eyes to see—

Himself.

It was another Zack, identical in every way. The Other Zack's body was so ravaged by those bullets Zack could see some holes penetrated through all the way from the front to the back.

Bleeding from all of his wounds, The Other Zack limped to Zack almost like a living dead.

Zack did a quick turn to see the men who fired were long gone — disappeared without a trace. It was now just him and The Other Zack.

 ~~"~~ _ ~~Zack...Zack...Zack…,"~~ _The Other Zack wailed, lifting up his bloody right hand as if to touch Zack.

Zack backed away with careful steps. He shouted and shouted, trying his best to stop The Other Zack from approaching him.

Zack began to run. If The Other Zack was slow, he could outrun him.

He ran as fast as he could, kicking the dust from the ground up to the air.

In school and all of his life, Zack wasn't athletic. He didn't join any sports team despite his fellow friends and teachers convincing him to. He was the water-boy and the medic — the two professions in sports he had been great at and enjoyed doing.

Zack was also a great runner only when it was needed. To run away from danger was instinctive since the first man walked the Earth. He was just doing what was passed down to him.

This method worked, right until a heavy sensation from his left side made him slow down.

He glanced over his shoulder to see—

The Other Zack, right next to him, with his eyes, nose and mouth bleeding profusely.

Zack had a mouth but he couldn't scream.

The Other Zack tightened his grip on Zack. " _What's wrong with him?"_

Around here, it seemed the dead didn't stay dead for long.

 ~~" _Zack...Zack...he...hel...help,"_~~ the dead man croaked, staring into Zack's eyes — begging for help.

Zack tried to swat him away. Didn't work. He punched him — also didn't work.

"What do you want?!" Zack shouted, a mix of anger and fear.

The Other Zack quieted, his hand making Zack unable to run any faster.

Zack pleaded for his freedom. It was denied. Just mere minutes later, The Other Zack performed an action Zack couldn't comprehend.

The Other Zack widened his mouth, revealing sharp reptile-like teeth to Zack. The mouth kept getting wider and wider, reaching the size no human could do.

The entire face was now a mouth.

He closed his eyes as The Other Zack bit right into his face. He screamed...and then—

* * *

Zack woke up with a jolt, almost swatting the hand that had grabbed onto his shoulder. When his eyes could finally focus, he had to think for a good few moments to realize nothing looked like he remembered. Or more really he still couldn't get used to that everything was in a comic book style.

Breathing out heavily he finally was able to remind himself where he was. " _I'm in the comic… I am IN the comic book of Crisis Core. It's not… I wasn't dreaming…"_

"Did you really just try to smack my nose?" A voice asked suddenly.

Zack flipped around to see Cloud standing over him, dressed in his regular clothes and rubbing his nose slightly. Right away Zack tried to stumble back, though because he was still on the bed he fell off and hit the cold wooden floor.

Drenched in his own sweats, he rearranged his position and sat on the bed. "I...had a bad dream. Sorry for that," Zack said, his voice soft and tired.

"Hmph," Cloud didn't react much from Zack's words, but at least he didn't seem upset anymore. "Whatever…" he turned around and walked over to where his sword was. He placed it on his back and stared at Zack. "Get ready, we'll be leaving shortly."

Zack nodded and headed straight to the bathroom to prepare. There wasn't much to do, really. Just washing his face, gurgling the water and spat it out were what he could do. If he had known he was going to be somewhere else not of his world, he would've prepared a toothbrush and a toothpaste.

He could use a good, warm shower right about now. Too bad he didn't have extra clothes…just yet.

His toothbrush had the word "Crisis Core" etched on the back. It was a gift from Aerith for his birthday a few weeks ago. The toothbrush was in bright yellow — the same color as the feathers of the Chocobos.

He styled his hair to impress Cloud, even for a little bit. The back of his mind suddenly reminded him of the nightmare he had. A chill ran down his spine. Zack brushed it off. Maybe spending a day with Cloud would help him brighten things up.

First thing first — a breakfast would be ideal.

Zack exited the bathroom, smiling and ready for an "adventure". Or just a short trip to a shop. Whatever Cloud was going to do or wherever he was going to take him, Zack would embrace it with open arms.

After all, he was with Cloud — the man of his dreams and the occasional desires.

"So, where are we going?" Zack asked, cheerfully.

"Food first," Cloud answered, now having packed away all of his items. "The motel has breakfast so we will start with that."

Zack nodded as he followed Cloud out of the room and down the hall of the motel. They were at the front soon enough and headed into the breakfast area. There were a few who gave a look at Cloud while others didn't even bat an eye.

Cloud quietly made his way over to one of the tables and placed his bag down beside it, but his sword stayed on the hardness on his back. "Get whatever you want," he told Zack before heading over to get his own food.

Bombarded by the strange, new smells of food he had never tasted, Zack stood up and grabbed an empty plate. He observed the food presented before him with childlike wonders. Each menu had its own name and Zack picked the ones that looked the closest to the food back home. He chose "sunny side-up eggs", "toasts", "sausages", "rice" and two pieces of "fried chicken".

He went back to the table, trying the food right away. There were no words to describe the taste. They were good teetering on being sorta great, but he couldn't pinpoint how to describe it.

Sometimes, the best way was to just eat. A cup of orange juice, presumably, accompanied his dish.

Cloud came back after a few minutes, and had a much lighter meal with just some pieces of toast, a hard boiled egg, and a small cup of orange juice. Cloud glanced at Zack's meal and then to him. "You think you might be overdoing it?"

Swallowing the piece he was chewing just about too fast, he drank the juice to clear his throat.

"I'm just hungry, that's all. And like, these tastes! They're something else, man. I can't even describe it. They're really good, I'll say that. The best meal I've ever had in my life is from another dimension, ain't that funny!" Zack explained. He chopped up some of the larger bits into smaller ones and brought them into his mouth.

"Shh, keep your voice down," Cloud hushed him. "Don't need other people knowing supposedly where you came from."

Zack did an "oopsy" motion and lowered his voice. When excitement happened, it wasn't unheard of for him to be unable to control or contain it. He was full of energy, ready to burst like a volcano — only instead of lava it was just Zack monologuing it non-stop until someone asked him to be quiet.

It was a trait he had been trying to work on. Not everyone was accepting of his happy-go-lucky mode when it surfaced, which was one of the reasons why he stuck around friends he was close with. They were familiar with him. They were his home and he was theirs too.

Cloud ate his food quietly after that, paying no attention to the wandering eyes that stared at him and then his sword. Cloud's heroism wasn't extremely well published, so it did lead to those curious and wary of his presence. But at the same time if they looked close enough they could see the gentleness in Cloud's face.

At least that was what Zack saw. He could see past that cold and hard exterior to see what Cloud was like on the inside. It also helped that he had read every other volume of the Crisis Core series to know everything he did about Cloud.

Zack did his best to just eat without wanting to talk, and he actually surprised himself on how well he did it. Once he was finished he followed after Cloud who went and turned in his key to the front desk and headed outside.

Stepping out into the outside world, Zack held his breath. He was standing in a street of Midgar… or more specifically the new city Edge. After the battle against Jenova, most of the city had been left in ruins, leading the people to start rebuilding. Edge was one of the new cities within the overall city.

All around him and Cloud was the city he had been sketching in his drawing notebooks. The industrialistic nature of the scrapped metal-decorated buildings had its own alluring beauty. What was once Midgar, reborn into a new city — the scars of the past present on every street, every window and every living being who survived the Meteorfall incident.

Here Zack was, standing on the very ground of a place that existed only in papers and his imagination. The air tasted of minimal ashy taste — somewhat like living next to the highway in a big city. Children ran past him, no longer infected with the Geostigma plague.

Zack leaned a little closer into Cloud, inquiring, "uh, Cloud. Is Shinra still around?"

Cloud had been placing his items securely onto his motorcycle before he glanced as well as setting his sword in the special compartment that the vehicle held. He shook his head after a moment. "No, the company was dismantled with the aftermath of Jenova."

"Ah, right, right. Forgot about that!" Zack chuckled in reply. He might have been the series' most devoted fan but when you had too much information in your brain, bits of it got lost here and there.

He observed the motorcycle closely, looking at all the parts of it in great admiration and interests. This was the _Fenrir_ — the legendary motorcycle Cloud used as his travel companion in all of his adventures from the first volume to...this one. Three-wheeled bikes weren't an oddity in Zack's home. However, none were like the Fenrir — one hell of a beast for a machine.

It'd probably have a soul.

Zack also had a figurine of the bike in a glass box sitting on his table. He got it off of an auction and much to his joy — it was genuine.

"So, where are we going?" he asked, dusting off the dust from the seating position he assumed he would be sitting on.

Right away Cloud snatched his wrist. "First, do not touch the motorcycle unless I say so. Second… we are going to head to check in on some friends of mine, and just maybe they can help figure out whether or not you are actually truthful about where you are from."

" _Crossing off my bucket list: having my wrist snatched by Cloud."_ Zack quickly retracted his hands and hid them behind his back. The Fenrir, much like its owner, possessed great beauty that often lured both friendlies and enemies to it.

Zack chimed in, standing in front of the bike right where the front wheels were, "I think you'll find that I've been speaking nothing but the truth. But you know what, I'll do it your way to prove myself."

"Trying to prove yourself that you are from another world, yet casually go asking me about Shinra, sounding like you knew all about them," Cloud commented dryly. "You are digging yourself into a dig hole right now."

Zack replied, anxious and hurried — unknowingly adding fuel to Cloud's suspicion of him. "I—know just a little about them. Just enough to know they're not on our side, I mean, your side."

It all circled back to _the_ question: do you tell the truth that all the pain and suffering and all of their experiences in life are just simply...creations?

"Like I said, I'll do it Mr. Cloud's way to rid myself of the doubt you've had about me!" Zack added, giving the serious-looking blonde a quick thumbs up.

Cloud narrowed his eyes again. It was still going to be a long road before Cloud had any inkling of trust. But Zack was willing to take that long road if it meant being near Cloud. If he could in fact gain Cloud's trust, well Zack wasn't sure what he would do then but he knew that it would be awesome.

"Whatever. Let's just get going then," Cloud said before he stepped onto his motorcycle.

He was adjusting the mirrors when he straightened up. The streets still had people talking and walking around, but Cloud's attention seemed to be elsewhere. Slowly he turned around and looked towards the end of the street. At the edge of the city he could see three figures on motorcycles, standing idle.

Quickly, Cloud faced forward and started the engine. "Get on. Now."

Zack noticed the tone shift in Cloud's voice — more serious than when they first met. The Fenrir had a rather small seat for two people. He set himself right behind Cloud, trying as best to get comfortable with a limited space.

Cloud revved the engine modesty, the speedometer needles ticked upwards and to the right.

The blonde shifted his bike's direction to face away from the dangers coming right at him and Zack. What a peculiar pattern, where Cloud often found trouble coming right at him when he was with someone else. It wouldn't be too far off to say it had become a part of his waking days.

From the mirrors, he saw the Remnants following him — using the same speed as he was. A couple of meters away Cloud noticed the traffic light about to turn red. "No good," he muttered, and lowered the speed to take a shortcut between a small alley of two buildings — one a local cafe and another a bookstore.

Exiting the passageway, the blonde sped up as there wasn't as much traffic. No sight of the Remnants for now. Cloud still had his guard up. He had fought with them and they weren't just letting him go easily.

Zack, without words to say, watched as Cloud maneuvered the Fenrir with such expertise. The blonde never crashed into anyone, accelerated only when needed, and braked here and there for pedestrians.

The engine roared and purred back-and-forth.

Cloud did a right turn onto a highway — the longest man-made structure in this day and age. Above him and Zack, the sun shining brightly to give life. They passed by cars after cars, in varying sizes, color and passengers. People getting by.

Life, undisturbed, until—

—three silver-haired figures on their vehicles came up behind the bike. It was them.

Cloud revved up, and Zack tightened his grip on the man's hips. The Remnants did the same. One of them, sporting the biggest body frame called Loz, yelled right at the duo on Fenrir. Zack could not make out the words clearly, but the man seemed to be having the time of his life.

Zack leaned into Cloud, asking with his voice louder to combat the wind hitting against them, "What's your plan?!"

"Need to try and lose them without causing too much damage," Cloud muttered. "But more preferably just want to get them away from the city."

Zack almost had not heard Cloud over the roaring wind, but he knew that Cloud always had a plan. From everyone that was from the original Crisis Core story, Cloud was always the one with the plan. He may not have been the leader of the group, but there were sure times where he acted like one.

Switching back and forth between accelerating and decelerating, and avoiding coming into close contact with the Remnants, Cloud had proven to be excellent at commanding his vehicle. He and Zack hadn't been injured just yet. In the rear view mirror, it revealed Kadaj splitting away from the group, followed by Yazoo. Only one remained in the center was Loz.

The Remnants had changed their plan. A new attack formation, possibly.

The Fenrir began to move faster. The hunter should not, in any case, become a prey.

An 18-wheeler sped past them, its driver trying to get to his destination as fast he could. As the truck moved away further from them, but still visible, a sudden tire explosion sound pierced through the usual sounds of cars. The driver tried his hardest to brake, to no avail. The truck crashed into the left side of the highway and into some nearby cars.

Cloud slowed down the bike, quickly scanning the area for a quick exit off the highway — to find that there was none but forward to where the accident happened. He and Zack got off the bike — the engine still on just in case they had to make a quick escape.

It became apparent this was no accident, as a figure wielding a sword came up upon the wreckage. It was Kadaj, his sword — the _Souba_ , in hand. He swung his sword, and pointed directly to Cloud.

An invitation to a fight, for sure.

With Kadaj now present before them, Cloud had another worry — " _where are Loz and Yazoo?"_

"Uh, Cloud, you got anything I can use to defend myself?" Zack inquired, a panic forming inside him.

"Can you handle using a sword?" Cloud replied back.

"If it's not too big, maybe," Zack answered. During his day-offs from helping Aerith with her shop, he practiced sword-fighting at one of the local gyms. He wasn't aiming to be a professional. It was just that Cloud was such a handsome and brave man who happened to be one of the best at wielding a sword. It inspired Zack, and so he went to practice from time to time.

There was a clicking sound and suddenly the secret compartments opened up on Cloud's motorcycle. This was where he stored his sword, which Zack had to remind himself over and over was actually more of a fusion sword than its titled buster sword name. But either way he saw Cloud reach one handedly for the smaller of the pieces, one of the side blades, before handing it back to Zack.

"This work?"

Zack was completely in awe. He held the sword in his hand, admiring its beauty and what it could do when in the right person like Cloud. Maybe he wasn't deserving of it, but Zack didn't let this notion bother him much.

Kadaj was still where he was. No sight of Loz and Yazoo to be found.

Cloud would've preferred this fight to have all three of the Remnants present. However, it was not how they fought. They were the combination of brains, brawn and ruthlessness (especially from Kadaj). The perfect assassins, if they were one.

Kadaj jumped down from the turn-over truck, walking directly to them with the same boldness Cloud was familiar with...of Sephiroth.

The past would always find its way to haunt you.

Cloud had taken one of the other sword pieces into his own hand, the first sword in the whole collection which was the main blade. He gripped it tightly as he stepped closer to Kadaj. "Why did you follow me here?"

"You know exactly why, _big brother_ ," Kadaj sneered. "You keep trying to run away from us, from your past. But you know you can't escape it."

"I am not running from anything," Cloud replied. "I'm just trying to live my life."

"Then why do you run from what haunts you the most?" Kadaj taunted. "Why do you turn away and try to hide from what made you who you are?"

These dialogues, as thematic as they were, made sense to Zack. He had the knowledge of why they were after Cloud, who they were and their past encounters with the blonde. He held the sword tight with both of his hands, readying himself in a position for a sword fight.

" _This is what you trained for, Zack. You can do it. Focus. Focus…"_

Behind them were cars stuck because of the "accident". Zack looked at those people with a look of worrying plastered all over him. Their cars had stopped and some of them had got off from their vehicles to see what was happening.

Zack waved his one hand, with the other still holding on to the sword, to signal them to get back. He shouted and shouted, even showing the sword he had too. It somehow worked, whether or not those people got the right detail was completely unknown to him.

He returned to the standoff between Cloud and Kadaj, getting tenser every second passed.

In his sword-fighting class, one of the lessons he learned was that if you know an important detail about your opponent — say it. It may or may not be helpful.

Zack held the sword, just like how he was taught, and announced, "Kadaj...Cloud, if we're gonna fight. Why don't we go somewhere else? Don't involve those folks in this, alright?"

The first time Zack got to use this and it was with the villains from his favorite comic book series — both delightful and frightening at the same time.

Kadaj scowled at him with narrowed eyes. "And who do you think you are to interrupt us?" His attention then focused on Cloud again. "Brother, you went and told someone about us? Letting those secrets out after all?"

"I never told him or anyone else anything," Cloud said as he shot Zack a very cold glance. His gaze sent chills right through Zack's entire body.

" _Okay, not how I'd love for it to turn out."_

Zack shot Cloud a sheepish smile, as if to say, "look, Cloud. I'll tell you about it. I'm not lying," albeit not using words. "Like I said, if we're gonna fight. Either we do it in the Wasteland but if you want it to be here and now it should be quick."

Kadaj smirked, and dashed right into Cloud — their swords clashing with each other with such force there were sparks. Kadaj swung up and down, and left to right. Cloud managed to block each of Kadaj's moves.

Looking for a spot to help Cloud, Zack observed a few meters away. His hands were trembling and shaking. The courage he had prior beginning to fade. " _No, I can't be like this!"_

Zack shook his head, regaining the bravery as much as he could. He looked and looked, when...Loz and Yazoo moved in from left and right to him and Cloud.

Cloud took a hit on his back from Yazoo's gun, the _Velvet Nightmare_ , and let out a shriek. He did a quick turn, turning his attention from Kadaj to Yazoo. Yazoo fired more rounds at the blonde. Cloud used his sword to block the oncoming bullets, most of them ricocheting into another direction.

Getting up, slowly-ish, Zack re-positioned himself. Kadaj gave a signal to Loz, motioning his head to where Zack was. In those split seconds, his instinct kicked in and his hands held the sword up just in time to block Loz's _Dual Hound_ from slashing his face.

"You clearly haven't fought!" Loz proclaimed, mocking Zack.

Zack placed more weight and tried to push Loz away from him. Over the man's shoulder, Zack saw Cloud fighting both Kadaj and Yazoo at the same time.

They might as well be fighting three Sephiroths at this point, though that wasn't too far from the truth at least.

Cloud at this point now had his main sword in his left hand and the hollow sword in the right. With the hollow sword he was easily able to use it to deflect any bullets that Yazoo fired while also going forth to attack Kadaj.

During the fight, Kadaj seemed to be laughing at every moment he could get. "Are you enjoying this brother?!"

Cloud remained quiet as he continued to block and then attack both men.

"I think you should show a little more enjoyment dear brother," Yazoo added with his usually aloof tone, yet it still delivered the same sinister tone.

During a fight, one could get distracted.

During a fight, a distraction even by just a second meant life or death.

Zack was taught this in the school he went to. Having a razor-sharp attention to your opponent was among the top-three most vital aspects of sword-fighting.

With his eyes focusing on Cloud, for a split second, Loz saw this chance and attacked Zack with the electric shock mode of his weapon.

At first, came the initial impact. Zack gritted his teeth, unable to scream. The pain sending its wrath to all the muscles in his body. He began to stumble, losing control. The sword almost fell off of his hand.

Then, came the second impact from Loz using it again on him. This time, it was stronger and he couldn't even register what happened to him. Zack immediately fell to the ground, the sword clunking against the ground.

Loz kicked the sword away from him. The scariest moment was happening to me. The towering, muscular body of Loz blocked the sun above. He could only see the man, smiling a mischievous, child-like smile at him.

" _Fuck, no. I don't wanna die just yet!"_

Zack tried to move, but his body wouldn't just do what he had in mind for it. He tried to scream, tried to get his body to move, but the shock from the attack had proved to be too much.

His heart slammed against his chest though as everything seemed to move slowly around him. He was going to die here. He barely had done anything and now he was going to die a painful death. He hadn't even won Cloud's respect or approval yet. He had done nothing in his time here.

Zack closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable, but it never came. Instead the loud clanging of metal was heard overhead. Shooting his eyes open he saw Cloud was near him, one of his blades pushed up against Loz's weapon.

Trying to lift his head, Zack could see Cloud using one sword to fight off Loz, while the other still deflected the oncoming bullets from Yazoo. Kadaj on the other hand, seemed to be almost waiting to see what else would happen.

Even though he still couldn't fully get up, Zack did his best to crawl out from under Loz to pick his sword up. Using his arms and the elbows, he crawled with his back against the concrete road to the edge of the road where the sword laid bare. He let out occasional moans of pain every time he advanced to another spot.

Cloud was fighting two Remnants at once, and Zack was going to aid him any way he could.

Reaching the spot, Zack used the barrier built to keep cars from falling below to pull himself up. He leaned against it, huffing and groaning. On his left was the sword, of which he reached out to grab. First try was a failure, as with the second and third.

"Goddamnit!" Zack screamed, moving his body closer to the sword despite the immense physical pain. The sword was finally within his reach. He held out his arm, his fingers touching the edge of it.

" _Come on, come on!"_

All the indexes of his fingers grabbed the handle of the sword. There was a look of relief in his eyes, when—

—Loz dashed to him, wrapping his hand around Zack's throat, choking him.

Zack struggled to break free of Loz. Desperately gasping for air, he used what was left of his strength and pierced right through Loz's abdomen. The larger man backed away, shouting and screaming — with the sword sticking out of his wounded part.

Coughs, coughs and coughs. Finally, Zack was able to get air. If Loz was to attack him again, he'd be defenseless — or worse, he'd be killed by the weapon given to him by Cloud.

The hunk staggered to him, eyes filled with rage and mouth fuming of blood. Instead of shying away, Zack looked straight to him. If he was going to die here, right at this second, he'd rather be facing death face-to-face.

Zack wasn't the bravest back home, nor the most gutless. He was only an ordinary comic book nerd who lived above his friend's shop. He helped people when it was time. When danger came and it was too intense, he backed away like most people.

If anything, he had overcome the fear of death — even though it was just a little and deep down he was scared, it mattered.

Loz came closer, and closer. Zack could see another weapon in the man's hand — another _Velvet Nightmare_ , aiming right at him.

"Time to die, you—" Loz paused, sudden and immediate. His pistol dropped from his hand.

Behind him was Cloud, using one of his swords to penetrate through him. Yazoo and Kadaj roared out their brother's name, almost like howling. The former's pistol was temporarily damaged by Cloud.

Twisting the sword, and going deeper into Loz's body, Cloud said no words — only staring at him with angry, blue eyes.

The blonde proceeded to grab both his sword and Zack's, pulling it out of Loz. The man collapsed to the ground, their brothers rushing to him.

Cloud did the same, his face worried and decorated with various wounds. He and Zack exchanged no words, only nods. Occupying the mind of the blonde was now a gained respect for Zack. He still longed for answers from Zack. That, would be later.

He helped Zack standing up, the latter moaning in pain.

Kadaj gave both of them a death stare, as if to speak that this wouldn't be the last battle they'd have.

Cloud watched as the three Remnants got on their bikes, with Loz in the back with Yazoo, speeding off into the safety of their own.

It was time for them to do the same.

Carrying Zack in his arms, he let out a thank you. Zack smiled, nodding in response.

Cloud placed Zack on the same spot of the Fenrir he was sitting on, now with a specialized belt holding him and Zack in place.

The engine roared, and they sped off to where they were supposed to go.

Zack could only stay awake for so long, until he dozed off from extreme exhaustion.

In the dark void of his dream, a familiar voice called out to his name. His own voice?

Or rather, it was another him — the one who was massacred on the field.

The voice spoke of his name, distorted and warped—

—Endlessly.


	3. Maybe, Maybe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, AshAuditore here! Thank you so much for all the likes, comments, kudos and all the nice things you guys have given us. And once again, thanks for reading our little (and hopefully ambitious in a good way) fic!

Zack groaned, feeling the cold hard floor beneath him. He could feel his body was heavy and maybe even a bit sore, but far less in pain then he would have imagined. But he had to wonder why he was on the floor. It wasn't the most comfortable spot to be after a dangerous fight. " _Did Cloud… just leave me on the ground? No… he wouldn't do that…"_

Zack had yet to open his eyes, but suddenly he heard a door swing open and a voice to follow. "What in blue blazes!? Zack!?"

"Huh? Cid…? What are you doing here?" Zack muttered softly.

"This is my office. What the real question should be is why are you sleepin' on my office floor!?"

Zack's eyes shot open as he flung himself up into a sitting position. He whipped his head around, and quickly saw that he was in fact in Cid's office. Cid's office… which was in the real world not the comic book!

"What? How in the world did I even get back? Where… I swear it was real… No way it couldn't have been a dream."

"And just what are you blathering on about?" Cid asked. "I asked why you were sleepin' in my office and I expect an answer!"

"I… I uh… I don't really know," Zack replied as he looked around. Right next to him was Cid's desk, and on top of it was none other than his comic. "Ah that's it! I came in looking for my comic, but I kind of got sleepy and fell asleep?"

Zack knew what he was saying was a complete lie and probably rather stupid, and from the looks on Cid's unamused face, he agreed. "I closed the diner two hours ago. You up and left two hours before that."

"I...uh...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied. My bad," Zack apologized, rubbing his eyes and standing up — the comic book placed firmly in his hands.

His hands that just held a sword and fought with the Remnants.

That just...wrapped around Cloud's waist.

A sudden realization came to him: _where are all the bruises?_

The pain was no longer present, only an easily cured numbing sensation. It reminded him of the med kit that Aerith had under the desk of her cashier counter, including a defibrillator in a case attached to the wall right next to a superhero poster.

"I...I...went somewhere. Not like, outside or out of town. But, like, interdimensional. You know, like, _Oooh-weeee-oooh~"_

Cid stood there, squeezing the palm of his nose, followed by a sigh. "Kid, I don't know what you're on but you've gotta leave. I mean, just look at the time—" Cid took a quick glance at his wristwatch, silver and analogue.

This prompted Zack to take his phone out, only to be horrified by the fact that even though he was back — the bus service was closed. Swiping up, he saw notifications of missed calls and texts from Aerith asking where he was. He made a quick reply to her, stating he would be there in less than half an hour and ending the text with a big capitalized **I'M SORRY**.

"Kid? You need a ride home or something?"

"Oh? Oh yeah, thanks Cid," Zack replied as he slowly made his way out of the office. He kept his eyes locked down on the comic in his hands. The thoughts were swirling around him again and again, trying to make sense of all of it.

" _Was it really just a dream? No… it felt so real though. But like… how could I get into the comic in the first place?"_

Stepping outside he waited as Cid locked up the diner and then followed him to the guy's car. It was a car that Zack would have described as a clunker.

The vehicle was a Toyota Corolla of the E100 variant, its silver chrome color seemed new despite the age of the car when it was bought. On the top left of the front window when standing in front of it, there were dozens of stickers — most of them about car enthusiast clubs.

The license plate spelled, HGHWND, another form of his last name.

Cid unlocked the car and sat in the driver's seat. The older male let out an audible groan. He was much more fit than people in his age, but the plague of being old struck him nevertheless.

Zack sat right next to him, moving his butt around a bit to get acquainted with the beige, leather seat. He hadn't been in a car with leather seats this exquisite before. He wasn't a car expert, but even a fifth-grader (who might end up being smarter than you) could tell it wasn't the cheap kind.

The chef sent a cold, annoyed glare at Zack, as if to warn him to stop moving around so much. Zack giggled, offering an apology. Both of them pulled the seatbelts and clicked them in place, ready for the drive into the night.

Cid started the car, the plastic keychain with a " _Welcome to Los Angeles_ " dangling from the key. The engine came into life, shocking Zack who wasn't expecting the car of this age to have such a powerful engine. Depressing the clutch, Cid shifted the gear into first and accelerated. He lifted the clutch, causing a vibration.

"Did you do something to the car?" Zack asked, his body sensing the vibration the engine gave to the whole car.

"Yeah, I modified it," Cid replied, putting the handbrake down and accelerated by lifting his left foot from the clutch and pressing his right foot on the accelerator.

They exited the parking lot of Cid's diner and onto the main road. The front lights acted as guides and guardian angels for them. Reaching a certain speed, Cid shifted into a higher gear. The car sped past trees and grasses. Above them, the stars and moon came out for their playtime.

"Hey kid, mind reaching into that?" Cid requested, glancing over to the glove compartment before Zack. Not questioning the man's request, Zack opened it and reached into it. There wasn't much inside at all, merely just wrinkled papers and a cassette tape without a case.

Zack got the tape out, handing it to Cid. "This?"

The chef grabbed it, thanking the younger male at the same time. He slid the tape into the player, pressing play. A few seconds later, the first song played throughout the entire car. It was rock-n-roll, a music genre Zack hadn't even bothered to search for. He bore no hatred towards it, only that it wasn't what he'd listen to.

The voice of the singer was male, but warm and lush. The guitar, the bass, the drum and the percussion all worked in unison to compliment the singer, or the other way around as well.

Seeing more houses and low-rise buildings ahead, Cid slowed down the car. And he did the most surprising act Zack had never seen before — singing along with the track.

The chef didn't have the best voice in the world, nor the worst. He was clearly in the moment.

"You know where Aerith's shop is, yeah?" Zack asked, grateful that he was home in the real world but disappointed he was back too soon.

Cid nodded. Years ago had been there some time before. One of the patrons, who visited his diner on their way to work and after work almost everyday, had a daughter with a fiery passion in comic books. Her favorite series was a sci-fi series about a human-looking, time-traveling alien in a police phone booth. Some time ago during Christmas, Cid bought her a present — the complete collection of the series.

She was overjoyed, promising to do Cid a favor in return. He said to her she didn't have to, but the girl insisted. That favor had yet to come into play, but the two had become friends after that. She was a friendly and kind girl to everyone anyways, but she held her friends closest.

The car came to a stop in front of a comic book shop, built with bricks and stones and painted with soft colors of turquoise and beige. The sign, hand-painted and in beautiful cursive, read, " _The Cetra"_ — a name Aerith came up during the initial brainstorming of names with Zack and Kunsel. The name was mutated from the word "citrus", one of Kunsel's favorite fruits to eat on a hot day or any day.

Now standing outside of the shop were none other than Kunsel and Aerith, both wearing worried expressions as they waited for Zack to open the car door.

"Zack!" Aerith shouted as she ran closer to him. "Just where have you been!?"

He greeted her with a big smile, apologizing for his absence. Turning to Cid, he thanked him for dropping him off and also being sorry for "sleeping" in his office. The older male simply nodded in acceptance.

Zack got out of the car, careful not to close the door with too much force. The car sped off along with Cid to go back to his house.

"I'm still waiting on an explanation Zack," Aerith said as she tapped her foot. "Do you know how worried you had us?"

"Yeah," Kunsel added. "It's not like you to go hours without answering your phone like that."

"Well, uh, it's more than just that. This'll sound weird but...how about the good old _Cetra After Hours Story Association Time_?

The Cetra After Hours Story Association Time was set up by the three of them as a means to entertain themselves during late night where sleep wasn't coming by as easily. Aerith was the one to tell stories the most often, followed by Kunsel and Zack.

Simply by saying that phrase, the mood of the comic book shop girl and the Best Friend changed from uneasiness and mild anger to curiosity.

They entered the shop — the circular wooden "Open/Closed" sign now on the "Closed" side hung onto the window of the door with a turquoise frame. The shop was dark, with lights being turned on only in the cashier area — the usual place where they'd sit down on the floor and speak of those stories.

Aerith's favorite kind was supernatural, with emphasis on slow-burn, under-your-skin creepiness and impactful ending. Kunsel, on the other day, was into a shorter, in-your-face kind of scary. Zack preferred both, often opted to just listen instead of sharing. But he would tell the tales every now and then as well.

"Okay Zack," Kunsel said as the three of them took their usual seats. "Explain to us your story? What's so weird about your disappearance that it warrants a story?"

Zack breathed in and out, preparing himself. "Kunsel, remember the comic book you got for me? The one with Cloud Strife."

"Yeah? The one that is the spin off and also sequel series to _Crisis Core._ What about it?"

"This will sound...out of this world. Like, really out there, man!" Zack's hands were doing weird motions to accompany his words. He continued, "so, like, you know stories about portals into another world? Yeah, that...that happened to me. Literally."

Aerith and Kunsel looked to each other, the same confused look on both of their faces. They knew Zack would sometimes have outlandish stories, but those were just his usual fictional stories. Stories that he would make up to make the night more entertaining.

"What do you mean by another world, Zack?" Aetith asked. "How does it tie into you and your comic?"

"I was in Crisis Core! I was in that world! And I was...I was with Cloud. We fought off the Remnants. Here, I have pictures!" Zack pulled out his phone, showing them the pictures he had taken from the comic world.

He swiped the pictures, and stopped at a particular one. "Look, this is the Buster Sword!"

Kunsel raised an eyebrow. "Uh Zack buddy? That's just a black photo."

"There's nothing there. Are you sure you clicked on the right photo?" Aerith added.

"What? What do you mean?" Zack took a real close look at those photos, still just like how he saw the world when he was with Cloud. _Or maybe, I'm the only one who can see…._

Zack sighed, taking his phone back. "I'm not lying, you know. You guys know me, right? You know I don't lie just to make someone looks stupid or anything!"

"We know you don't like to lie, Zack," Aerith said, reaching forward placing a hand on Zack's leg. "But we aren't seeing anything."

"I know...it's just...frustrating, that's all. Sorry for wasting your time, guys. Maybe I should get a hot shower and some sleep too," Zack stated, letting out a huff. _Welp, there goes my chance._

He put each of his hands on Aerith and Kunsel's shoulder. "Hey, at least, I'm back here!"

"Yes we're glad for that," Aerith sighed happily.

"You really had us worried man, but good to see you're in one piece still."

A part of Zack had wished he could take both of them along. Yet, it would be too risky. Zack was there not because of his own volition, but rather an accident in the continuum of space-time.

Or maybe, it was intended. Zack didn't know the true answer for now.

With everything over for now, Zack made his way to the back of the shop where a door led him into the back area of the shop. From there he was in a small office, but that wasn't where he was stopping. Proceeding into the room more, there was a small narrow staircase that led up to the second story of the building.

Trudging up the stairs he walked until he reached the top and then staggered to his bed before flopping down on top of it. " _Ah man… What happened? I mean like did I really dream it all?"_

With a sigh Zack sat up and looked through his phone again. He still had all the photos he had taken while in Cloud's world. All of them were still there, yet for some reason to Aerith and Kunsel they saw nothing. He knew that they would never mess with him, not when he was trying to be serious. So he just didn't get it. It was only then he was struck with another thought.

"Wait! The comic!"

From his bag he pulled out the comic and ran over to his desk. He flipped it open to the first few pages, trying to find where he had left off before everything went crazy.

He started page by page, turning and inspecting each one with precision — just like how one would play _Where's Noctis?_

The pages leading up prior to journey to another world remained as they were — no changes at all.

Continuing, he flipped it open to see those pair of blue mako eyes staring right back at him. This was where the anomaly first appeared. Here, Cloud was not flesh and blood. He was just ink and paper.

Once he got to "the pages", _the very pages_ that made him the traveler of both Earths, they were blank — completely in white.

His fingers moved on the surfaces of them and they recognized the texture that of an ordinary paper used in comic books worldwide.

Zack kept on going, trying to spot any other strange occurrences — something or someone that shouldn't have been there. The pages continued, and there, he saw himself.

He wasn't just flesh, blood and bones anymore. He was ink, colors and papers. From that point on, he was on every page. His whole endeavor had been recorded in the book he had in his possession.

Doing a careful quick-flipping to the scene after the fight with the Remnants, where he was on Cloud's bike and dozing off from all the bruises and tiresomeness. A gasp of surprise escaped his mouth.

He shouldn't have been so taken aback, but he couldn't stop his true feelings emerging from inside.

His face against Cloud's back, the wind blowing a gentler one for them after the fight, and his arms wrapping around the character he had been so intrigued and interested in for so long — they were all true. They happened. And no one could say they weren't real, should Zack figure out a way to show them that is.

Two knocks on the door of his bedroom startled him a bit. A voice came through after, saying, "hey, Zack, can I come in?"

It was Aerith. Zack replied back, giving her an allowance to be inside his own space. There were currently two people on his list of friends that were allowed to be in his room (with his permission): Kunsel and Aerith.

The girl sat on the edge of his bed, giving Zack her ever-so radiant and kind smile.

"Zack, I just wanna say as someone who's been a fan of all things strange….your experience is still somewhere in-between _eh, it's okay_ and _pretty nice_."

Zack put the comic down, looking at her with furrowed eyebrows and a frown.

A pause, then, Aerith chuckled. "I'm kidding," she said, making Zack giggling with her too.

She got up and said goodnight to Zack, wishing him of a good dream. Zack waved back to her, saying the same thing but for her. Aerith had been a great friend to him — the voice of reason and funny musings about the world.

Zack was all by himself again. He picked up the comic book, only to find the remaining pages were all in black. No lines, no frames, no drawings — nothing.

However, the pages had their limit. This story had an ending, and Zack had to figure all this out just before the last page turned into a full-fledged colorized page.

One fear stirred inside Zack — _what if I couldn't make it out?_

Forever trapped in a comic book wasn't such an enchanting idea. But...what about Cloud and the rest? Especially the Remnants?

What would be the consequences of telling them the truth?

Zack's existence in that world alone might as well have disturbed the atoms of the universes.

He closed the comic book, setting it aside his lampshade on a small nightstand. Zack switched it open — the warm, glowing orange-ish light illuminated the distances it could reach.

Zack set an alarm clock at 09:30AM on his phone, now being charged and slept right next to the book. The wallpaper was his own illustration of Cloud, of which the blond hadn't seen just yet.

Closing both of his eyelids, Zack went back into the world of dreams. No "scary Zack" for tonight. It seemed to be just him and Cloud, being together somewhere faraway from all the troubles. They were pacing on the field of wheats, their hands rustling against the tall stems. The sun wasn't too bright, giving heat and light in considerate amounts.

They weren't talking much, merely communicating by the occasional eye-starings, touching of the hands, and embraces.

Cloud cuddled Zack from behind, his two hands locked and placed around Zack's abdomen. The blond rested his head on the back of another, humming a song for both of them. They swayed back-and-forth, slow-dancing to a song sang through humming.

Zack joined in the song, his hands grabbing Cloud's — to encapsulate them in his.

Time didn't exist here.

No ticking of the clock. No beep. No—beep— _beep beep_. _Beep beep—_

The alarm rang. It was time for Zack to wake up. He begrudgingly turned it off, letting out sighs and groans of sleepiness.

" _Why do the best dreams always gotta get interrupted…"_

Looking around Zack saw he was still in his room, a room that was cluttered with a lot of Crisis Core merchandise. But there was no real life Cloud talking to him. No Remnants chasing after him. He was just back in his normal world room.

Sitting up in his bed he stretched and glanced over to his desk. The comic still sat there open to the random page he had left it on. Slowly he made his way over to the book and stared at it again, flipping through the pages.

Everything was the same as he had seen it last night. The first half of the story still was as he had read it, and then the next part still featured him now interacting with Cloud and later with the Remnants.

He traced his fingers on the panels that featured him. The illustration of him fitting in the exact same style of the comic, looking as if he had been drawn in the entire time from the start. He was written into the comic…it was still so weird to think about…so weird to see.

But if he was seeing it here… maybe he could actually prove that he wasn't insane. Taking the comic into his hands he ran down stairs to see Aerith cleaning up a bit in the store. It was still a couple hours before opening, so he could take the time to try and talk to her.

"Hey Zack," Aerith answered him. "You sleep well?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, it was perfectly fine."

"Any more dreams of being whisked away to your comic book world?" she asked lightly before giggling.

He knew that she was only teasing him, but it still hurt a little. "I was serious about that! And look I can prove it this time!"

He held out the comic book out on the panel where he shook hands with Cloud. "Right here. You see the panel? Tell me what you see."

"Um…" Aerith blinked before looking more carefully at the panel. "Cloud is just laying on his bed as his thoughts reflect part of his recent journey in Nibelheim."

"Wait what?!"

Zack turned the comic back around to look at it himself. He rubbed his eyes before staring at the panel again, but he still saw that it was of him and Cloud. "But I… you swear that you don't see anything else? What about here? Is there anything here?" He now held out the book towards the end where there was the abundance of white pages.

"Yeah… that's just the near ending of the story. Zack…" Aerith reached out and placed a hand on Zack's face. "Are you sure that you are okay? You're not coming down with anything are you?"

He let out a soft huff, taking Aerith's hand off his face in a polite manner. It was sure now for him, that he was the only one that could see the changes made inside the book. Zack flipped the comic book closed, his dominant hand gripping it.

"I'm alright, yeah," Zack replied, sounding almost defeated.

Aerith may not be able to see, but a part of her had her belief in him and the story of his encounters with the world seemingly beyond grasps of normal humankind. Through her eyes and gestures, she comforted him—giving Zack the reassurance he needed.

"Okay Zack. But please, if you need to rest some more, please do. I can handle opening the store up on my own."

Zack nodded his head before turning around. "Yeah yeah, maybe I just need a little more sleep."

Heading back up the stairs he placed the comic back down on the desk. He turned to his bed and flopped down face first onto it. He grumbled softly to himself as he stared up at the wall scrolls and posted he had pinned up on the walls. All of them official or fan made art of the comic book series he loved dearly.

" _Was it all just in my head? Am I just going crazy? I wish I could just understand why I can see things the others can't…"_

He stayed up thinking things over and over, still unable to sleep. Zack continued to do this a few more hours, including sketching a rough sketch of what he had seen in the comic world, and reading the older volumes of Crisis Core.

A yawn escaped his mouth, and his eyes somewhat droopy. Closing his eyes, intended to take a short nap, Zack drifted off.

Around him were the noises of the town outside and cars passing by. Those sounds dissolving as his mind traveled further into slumber.

He hadn't set an alarm clock. Maybe he'd wake up a few hours later for a meal, either eating out with Aerith and Kunsel or going into the kitchen with the former. Aerith wasn't the world's greatest cook, but she could pull off decent meals—especially when it was required.

Zack had met both of them in college. His nights turning from consuming packs of instant ramen to actual food—thanks no less to Aerith (and Kunsel, from time to time). He knew when it came time to eat and he was still sleeping, they would come and check on him… whenever that would be. He was too tired to think about it anyways as his mind finally pulled into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now it is me, RikuKingdomHearts3, to end it off. We hope you guys enjoyed this nice ramble of a chapter, it was a lot of fun to do creating this lore for Zack's world. Hope to see you all next time!


	4. And You, Zack, Will Tell Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow has it been a month already? That went by fast, but either way we are back with the new chapter! Thank you everyone who has read this story this far and thank you all for being so patience with us.

Zack yawned before opening up his eyes. They felt heavy along with his entire body feeling still and tired. The room was now dark, he didn't even see any light streaming in from anywhere. " _Man… just how long was I napping? What time is it?"_

He yawned once more before he saw a figure hovering over him. He gasped as he tried to sit up, only to collide his forehead into the figure. Letting out a groan he fell back onto the bed.

"Hey!" a young female voice shouted. "You're awake finally!"

"Who…?" Zack murmured, whoever the voice was they were not familiar to him.

He rubbed his eyes, blinking them to see more clearly. Before him was a girl with short, black hair and a headband wrapping around her. The girl's eyes widened, full of energy, at the sight of him now finally awoken from his sleep.

Zack got himself up in the bed, sitting against the wall. "Where am I?" he asked, looking around to see he was in an unfamiliar place. The room was minimalistic, but not in the sense of futuristic. A more correct word would be simplistic, right to the bare bones.

This wasn't his room. One answer popped into his mind, that of the most possible, especially when he noticed just how everything actually _looked_. He was back in the comic book world again. The mechanisms and the how-and-why he was able to transport back-and-forth between his world and Cloud's remained mysterious for now.

" _Cloud. Where is he?"_

"Oh good! You're actually awake! Thought maybe you bumped your head a little too hard there!"

"Ah, no, it's okay," Zack replied, with a dry smile and a hand extended for a handshake. "I'm Zack."

The girl smiled and reached out to shake his hand. "Well I am Yuffie! And don't you go forgetting it okay?!"

Zack replied with a smile. "Alright, Yuffie. I'm Zack. By the way, what's this place?"

"No way! That's top secret information! I can't just tell you any of that just yet! Not until we know your true intentions!"

Zack nodded as a reply, giving the girl a half-sheepish smile. He re-balanced himself, letting out an audible groan of slight pain. On his hands and arms, the scars of battle were there. Good news for Zack: they were healing and rather quite fast too. It was the nervous system underneath his flesh and bones that were still sending signals of pain - a proof that he was still alive.

"I take it that you're Cloud's associate, yeah?" Zack asked, finally getting up from the bed.

"You bet I am! But you are still highly suspicious!" Yuffie said as she pointed directly at him. "Some real mysterious guy for sure."

Yuffie was precise in her words, despite her happy-go-lucky attitude. Zack wasn't born into this world. No one was, but they were spared the truth of their existences. One could go insane when finding out such dangerous truths. Zack wanted to be honest, but he had to be careful in saying his words.

"It's alright. It's good that you don't trust me right away," Zack complimented, and inquired, "do you think it'd alright if I go out and breathe in some fresh air?"

"Not without someone watching you," Yuffir replied. "And that someone's going to be me!" She pointed to herself as she held her boastful grin.

A soft chuckle escaped from Zack. He got out of "the house" and to outside, where he did what he said he'd do. Yuffie stood close to him, her eyes observing and never leaving him out of sight. "If I may ask, how did you get to know Cloud? If you're at liberty to say."

"Oh no way! I am still not telling you anything! Cloud already told me that you knew things about him without even knowing him! I've never seen him so curious before about someone but you took the cake for that."

There was a visible expression of surprise and honor on Zack's face. He was the first to make Cloud be curious, truly. Good things and bad things happening all at once, Zack supposed. Still, this wasn't his world. He was the man of both Earths, and sooner or later, he'd have to choose which one. He could stay here, but at what cost? To become just another "drawing"? Just another creation?

People of religion would say humans, from Zack's world, were created. He had never asked that question - the most important one of all. To Zack, it wasn't even in the top ten on his list. But by no means he was nihilistic. If he had to say, Zack would tell he was a mix of an optimist and a realist. His past experiences had taught him that, and more would come to knock on his doors in the days to come.

Or he could go back — to his home. His one, true home of 7.594 billion people — Kunsel and Aerith included. A famous singer once sang _'heaven is a place on Earth',_ and it might just be true. Might.

Either way the concept of staying in this world weighed on his mind. Was something like that even possible? Currently he wasn't all too sure given how he had woken back up in his own world for less than a day before returning. But maybe it was just something worth looking into.

Eventually, Yuffie cleared her throat, stopping the rest of Zack's thoughts. "We should probably head back inside and talk to Cloud and the others. He still is the one to decide what'll become of you."

Zack headed back inside from the backyard connected to the bedroom, with Yuffie watching his every step. The girl didn't frighten him much with her presence. Rather, there was a general mood of being guarded from harm. It did help that Yuffie had a rather cheerful method of speaking and showing her emotions.

The door inside the bedroom, when opened, led to a short hallway. Zack asked the girl, asking which room to enter and she told him to keep on walking. At the left end of the hall was a small window to see the outside. They were still within Edge, but Zack could see the remains of old Midgar structures in the background. He lost himself in the sight before Yuffie tapped by his shoulder. Zack apologized, with Yuffie pointing at the door nearby the window — a seemingly hand-painted warning splashed across it, saying, " _DO NOT ENTER UNLESS YOU'RE WITH US"_.

Zack was led into a large living room space where several others were sitting around a fireplace. Besides Cloud there were four others sitting with him: Biggs, Wedge, Rosa and Cid. But not the Cid Highwind Zack had been an acquaintance of. This was Cid Pollendina, the group's mechanic and air ship specialist. Strangely enough he had similar interests as Cid Highwind in that manner of speaking, but otherwise that was where the similarities ended.

The thought of all Cids having an interest in vehicles made Zack chuckled. Maybe it was just coincidence, but it still proved to be amusing. But letting his thoughts get to him, he forgot what he was actually doing there. The group was all staring at him now, Yuffie included.

"What are you smiling about?!" she demanded. "I really don't like that grin you got!"

"Yuffie," Rosa said. "Please, no need to be so harsh on him."

"Sorry. Something came up," Zack replied, giving the group an apologetic stance. "So, what are you guys discussing?" he asked, genuinely wanting to participate.

Cloud was the one to stand up and walk over to him. "We were discussing what we were going to do now that you're here. We want you to tell us what you know."

Ah, the billion-dollar question with world-ending complications.

Anxieties rose from deep within him, causing Zack to place both of his hands into his pants' pockets. Unnoticed by Zack, but to Cloud it was evident, his gaze left the group to the floor and back to them again.

Zack sighed, walking to them and grabbed a chair to sit down. Those hands still tucked away in the pockets. He cleared his throat, and asked to be sure, "what do you want to know?"

Cloud turned around and went back to take his seat, leaving the seat to his right still open. "Tell us just how you can claim to be from another world yet seemingly know about Shinra and who I am. You told me before that you knew just a little about them, but that still wouldn't make any sense if you are actually from some other place."

The necessary evil of lying was much needed in this situation. Zack would've preferred not to, yet, it was not time to just tell everything. He could not bear to see how they would react, if they chose to believe. Zack grabbed a nearby stool, placing it almost right in the center of the gathering. He sat on it and told his lies, as convincing as he could.

Zack started by telling he was a librarian working at a library specializing in ancient books and scripts of archaeological importance found from throughout the globe. "We're an archive, of sorts," Zack said. He continued by saying he and his colleague, who Zack added were a close friend of his, had been busy at work on decrypting a newly-found series of discovered ancient books.

"In those texts, they tell tales of otherworldly creatures and a land where magic and science are one and the same. In those stories, _Shinra_ is the main antagonistic force — sucking up life-forces from below the Earth, or Gaia."

He looked around the room, noticing nobody had said anything yet. _I'm doing good so far_ , he complimented himself. "And one day, this friend of mine brought in a new volume. It was transferred from a dig-site in a far-away continent and to us. He was going to go through the pages with me but he was busy with other works. So, naturally, I went in."

Zack explained how as he was working on it, a strange event occurred. A portal, a voice, and an accidental transport into Cloud's room. He told it all, leaving out the details of his inner feelings towards the blonde.

These were all lies based on the truth. Some day, he'd tell the real version but for now this was what he could give them. Zack waited for their response, anxiously waiting to see whether or not they were convinced. If Kunsel and Aerith were here, they'd have been able to tell he was lying.

" _You're sweaty when you're lying, Zack!" Aerith stated, some time ago._

He waited after he finished, taking in how each person was looking at him. Yuffie still seemed the most suspicious of him, with her eyes narrowed and a frown all mixed into her face. Wedge and Biggs looked more or less intrigued, but also confused at the same time by what Zack had told them. Zack knew though that they would most likely believe him first before the rest, mainly Wedge since he was always portrayed as the nice and easily trusting one of the group.

Cid was hard to read, especially with his beard and goggles covering up most of his face, but again Zack knew all of these characters well. Cid may have seemed like an old grumpy man, but he really was daring and adventurous, willing to do what it takes to destroy the enemy. Rosa on the other hand sat there calmly, seemingly mulling it over, but he could see her friendly smile when he realized he was staring for too long.

All that was left was Cloud, and he was the hardest one to read of them all. The entire time Zack told his story, Cloud barely reacted at all. He only raised his eyebrows slightly at the occasional bit of information that Zack had to explain. By the end of it Cloud had his arms crossed as he sat up straight, now barely even moving at all.

"So that's the entire story?" he finally asked.

"Well, of course not!" Zack replied, his anxiety lowering down a bit now that his lies seemed to work. "We're still hard at work on it. There's just a lot to unpack. Like, a lot," he emphasized. An air of slight uneasiness moved throughout the room as he observed each member of the team.

Out of the blue, a single word with three syllables popped into his mind. Shinra was the force of evil in those "books", but this particular word described a far more dangerous threat — one that came from deep space: **J E N O V A**.

Clearing his throat, Zack spoke up, "also, anyone of you familiar with Jenova? I saw this name popping up in the books that I've gone through. Cross-referencing didn't help much either. It was like, this word wasn't even in the vocabulary of any language."

The room got very quiet, with all of the others staring at Zack. He could practically feel the tension that was building up in the air. He knew what he was doing though, if he wanted to try and avoid suspicion he had to try and play by what his plan was. He just hoped he wasn't asking too much or the wrong things at the wrong time.

Eventually, it was Rosa who cleared her throat to break up the silence. "Jenova… we know the name well enough, but it is far from pleasant."

"Really stirred up a lot of trouble," Cid grumbled.

"It was a freaky slimy, ugly alien!" Yuffie exclaimed. "It wanted to destroy our entire planet before!"

"Yuffie, please" Rosa said quietly. "No need to freak out." She then looked back at Zack. "We defeated Jenova two years ago with the help of some of our other friends of course."

"But that's not the end of it," Biggs added on. "Even though we defeated Jenova, there still seems to be some unusual activity around the planet. We've been trying our hardest to come to a proper answer for all of it."

_Ah, so, JENOVA is the harbinger of doom — just like in the comics. Though technically this was the comics… just somehow real._

Zack was just asking to confirm. For him, he was an acquaintance with the name. Hell, he could picture exactly what Yuffie was stating. He had seen her. He had seen the world, their world, almost coming to an end.

And at the center of it all, was Sephiroth...and Cloud.

The former lived on, despite his physical existence being obliterated. The Remnants were a proof of this. For Cloud, having to fight those three were likely more than just a reminder of his bittersweet battles with the one-winged, silver-haired angel himself.

Or a demon...or both, who could truly know?

Zack thanked the group for answering his heavy question, digging up rather unpleasant memories of the past. He shifted his posture into a more relaxing one.

"So, what's next?" Zack asked, gazing almost directly to Cloud. If there was a system of hierarchy among the group, Cloud would be on top. But rather, this particular group resembled more of a family or a gathering of friends rather than an army.

"What's next?" Cid asked in a grumpy manner. "Well that would be up to Cloud. And we still don't trust you yet, boy. So ya better watch it!"

"Cid…" Cloud held up a hand and shook his head. "I do agree that I still don't trust Zack…" his gaze fell back to him, staring deeply with his vibrant blue eyes. "But I won't just completely shove him off either on what he says. He fought with me against the Remnants as you know. All he needs is more to prove himself with."

A small smile appeared on Zack's face. Cloud had every reason not to trust him. But here he was, saying all Zack needed was to prove his honesty more. It gave him a boost in confidence. Not everyday your favorite fictional character said what could be interpreted as an encouragement to you.

Sooner or later, Zack would have to come clean. With hope in his heart that by the time he had done it, Cloud would understand the how and why. He wouldn't mind the man being furious at him, or threatening him with his sword.

All Zack wanted was just that he would be understood in his intention. In his white lies. And in his truths.

All of the members seemed to be in a lull of quietness as they thought over Cloud's decision. None of them were ones to disagree with Cloud, but the situation was still rather odd. Before anything more could be said, a Chocobo-themed "ding" pierced through the silence.

Zack looked around for a moment, curious about the sound. In the next ten to twelve seconds from the first ding, a string of identical sounds kept coming in. The group turned their gaze to Cloud, seemingly knowing that he was carrying something that was the origin of the sound.

Cloud made an annoyed huff, pulling his phone out. The screen lit up, revealing strings of notifications of text messages from…

Reno, the infamous red-haired Turk.

The Turks now operated with goals dissimilar to the ones pre-Meteor event. Their operations were no longer a part of Shinra's all-mighty, shady affairs to control the world. The Shinra of old was no more, gone with the destruction of Midgar. Since the early days of Edge, the Turks had been working in a much more clandestine manner — although Reno's occasional showy entrances often ruined that.

The blonde slid his phone back without all the care in the world for the sender of those messages. He was about to give his opinion when, this time, the phone rang and vibrated. The cheerful, Wutai-inspired tone blared throughout the room, emanating from his very pocket.

Yuffie shot Cloud a look of _is that your boyfriend calling?_ , almost causing Cloud to reply to her with a finger (of which he was going to do, but decided not to). He excused himself, leaving the room to stand in the hallway to pick up his phone.

The screen flashes Reno's name in all-caps. He had the man's phone recorded.

Cloud took the call, placing the phone slightly further away from his ear — so that he could be spared of—

"HEY, CLOUDDDDD! FINALLY!"

It was loud enough that Cloud didn't even need to put on speaker mode. He yelled back, scolding and asking Reno to lower his voice. Chuckles from the red-haired were heard, prior to Cloud putting his ear closer to the speaker.

"What do you want?" Cloud inquired, making his irritation heard.

Reno, with his voice slightly lowered, but still with his usual enthusiasm turned up to the max, spoke, "relax, Strifey. I'm just calling to see if you're doing okay!"

"So, this is why you sent me those texts? Just to ask that? I'm gonna hang up if—"

"Oh, oh, oh! Don't hang up just yet! Well, I mean, I do want to ask you that but there's something you should know," Reno paused, clearing his throat, but not out of necessity.

He continued, "old man Reevey and Rufus had us Turks trackin' down strange signals appearing all over the region. We couldn't figure out much of the how and why either. But one thing for sure, three spots seem to be givin' the strongest signals!"

"I'm not an investigator, you know that, Reno."

"Doesn't have to be one to know it's probably linked to fuckin' Jenova."

Cloud paused, breathing in and out. "What do you want?"

"Glad you asked! This would be an out-of-the-record kinda mission. A secret collaboration between you and the Turks. I know, I know. You're gonna say N-O but as much as I hate to admit, we do need you for this. Like, big time."

"If I say yes, what's in it for me?"

"That depends on what you want."

Cloud took the phone off, moving his head a bit into the room to see Zack pacing around. He had an idea, replying to Reno with—

"I'll tell you the details later. Something's come up and I don't have the right equipment to deal with it. Those scientist guys still up for new stuff to look into?"

"Of course! That's the only thing they hold on to these days."

"Alright. I'll do it. I'm gonna bring along someone too."

"Oooh. You got a boyfriend?" Reno asked slyly.

"Just send me the locations of those three places," Cloud hung up. _A boyfriend_ , the blonde mumbled, letting out a chuckle of disbelief. He put his phone back and entered the room.

Zack greeted him with a smile and a question, asking who he was talking to, continuing to play into seeming clueless about most things. Cloud answered that it was just his acquaintance who was also in the business of making sure the world was safe. By that world, usually it meant the area around Edge and nearby.

"Zack, you're coming with me," Cloud stated, firm and sure.

Zack jumped up to his feet, giving a small salute. "Right! After you Cloud! Lead the way!"

A joyful Zack followed behind Cloud as they headed out of the house. He stayed close by Cloud's side but still gave some room between them as they walked over to Cloud's motorcycle. "So where are we headed?"

"There's three locations we need to check…" Cloud said as he glanced down at his phone. "And the first one is at the old Shinra headquarters."

"From before all this?"

Cloud replied with a simple "yep". He set a GPS on his phone, with the Shinra HQ as the destination.

Nobody had been there since the last batch of surviving personnel entered to retrieve data and equipment. The whole building, or the ruins of it, were left to nature's mercy. The core of the tower still stood, although rotting away with time and from rain and heat. Some of the broken down parts were converted into parts for other structures in the city.

The Fenrir roared into life as Cloud started it. Metallic patches covered the scars from the battle with the Remnants. The group helped Cloud with the repairs, mostly Cid. Cloud put on his goggles, ready to venture out to do what he had promised Reno to.

Reno becoming someone Cloud could drink pints of beer on a boring, Friday night with, was a welcome addition to his life. The red-haired agent refrained to speak about his past, but he didn't have to be drunk for Cloud to know he was still carrying his sins for aiding Shinra in the destruction of the plate and countless more killings.

But Reno never seemed to drink his life away.

"Hop on, Zack," Cloud stated, glancing quickly at him. Zack sat on the same spot as before. A quick thought appeared from within: _what if Cloud teaches me how to ride this?_

Twisting the handle, the Fenrir began its travel into the abandoned lands of Midgar. Young children born in Edge were told of the histories of Midgar, from the very beginning to its demise. The grounds beneath their small feet contained traces from the world long gone, but not forgotten. Memories lingered and seeped through every corner of the city.

The wind wished Zack and Cloud a safe journey with its strong, but gentle touches. Cloud's phone showing how far and close they were from their destination. It also scanned the area for incoming threats, should there be any — notably from the Remnants.

To keep himself from falling asleep, Zack observed the surroundings passing by. This would be the second time in his life he was sitting on a bike — the first time being with his uncle, who he had not seen for quite some time.

And so, they rode and rode, into the day and night.


End file.
